Sat with Groundwork

What “fair and green” Means in Practice 

Groundwork’s mission to create a fair and green future focuses on linking environmental action with social outcomes. 

Graham explains how these issues are often closely connected: 

“The reason we choose that kind of language is to demonstrate that when we think about the environment, it’s not a faraway thing. The environment matters to all of us in our daily lives in the here and now. It’s also one of the key drivers, and consequences, of poverty and hardship. They’re two sides of the same coin.” 

This approach can be seen in practical initiatives such as improving home energy efficiency, supporting warmer homes, and helping communities take local action. 

“Coming together as a community to make a change on your doorstep, in your local neighbourhood, that’s the first step to feeling empowered.” 

The ripple effect: Cook & Eat, People’s Patch and beyond 

Our teams have seen this first-hand. At Groundwork’s Cook & Eat programme in Dudley, TBC Director Dave Schilling joined participants for a six-week community cooking course and came away describing something far richer than a cooking lesson. 

 At the People’s Patch in Coventry, TBC’s David Morton spent a morning building planters and planting trees alongside volunteers from schools, SEN centres, and the local community. 

Graham describes this as Groundwork’s  ‘ripple effect’, the idea that a single project can create multiple outcomes at once. 

“We grapple with loads of things at once, whereas government policy and funding deals with particular aspects of our lives. But when you’re actually living your life, all of this stuff just comes together.” 

The People’s Patch is a good example. “The People’s Patch is a Groundwork  Green Community Hub, spaces that serve the local needs of communities and are a place that does multiple things at once, such as volunteering or education an improving access to nature.People thentake what they learn home and ripple it out through their families and wider community networks.” 

Understanding barriers to employment 

Groundwork’s work also focuses on supporting people who face barriers to employment. 

Graham highlights that, for some individuals, access to workplace experience and role models can be limited: 

“For young people, quite often it’s the fact that they’ve had no experience of what being in a workplace means. A lot of the young people we work with find it difficult to find role models who can support them into that.” 

He also notes how changes in working patterns can affect how these skills are developed: 

“Those workplace skills are harder to come by now, but they’re still fantastically important. That ability to get on with people who aren’t like you, get on with people of different ages. Understanding teamwork and those basic disciplines of how you show up at work every day.” 

Groundwork addresses this through practical, community-based projects: 

“Our vehicle for instilling those skills is often a classic practical environmental project in your neighbourhood. Come and work with a group of volunteers to regenerate a community allotment, create a community garden, improve a school’s green space. That’s where it starts.” 

Why partner with a recruitment agency? 

Partnerships play an important role in connecting community support with real employment opportunities. 

As Graham explains: 

“We’ve always had a thread in our work about helping people get closer to the labour market, getting skills, getting new opportunities. A lot of what we do is about helping people try jobs out. So there’s a natural affinity with the kind of work that you do.” 

He also highlights broader labour market challenges affecting young people: “As soon as the economy goes through some kind of cyclical change or crisis, it’s young people who suffer most. If you’re a young person already finding it hard to get your foot onto the employment ladder, you’re just at the back of a longer queue.” 

Through our partnership with Groundwork, we aim to support individuals in building confidence and accessing opportunities across sectors such as logistics, industrial and driving 

Green jobs and the awareness gap 

The transition to a greener economy is creating new opportunities, but awareness remains a challenge. 

Graham explains: 

“Young people will tell us there’s not a lot they pick up from school or from careers lessons about the green economy. Their perception is that green jobs are either very elitist, you need high-level qualifications, you’re a scientist in a white coat, or they’re very poorly paid and very menial.” 

Groundwork focuses on helping people take their first step into these pathways: 

“There’s very limited awareness of how green jobs can lead to exciting, well-paid careers,” Graham says. “The bit we do is focus on that very first step. How do you get people to notice this, be prepared to give it a go, and find a pathway in that suits them?” 

Closing that awareness gap is something both organisations are committed to, and it sits at the commercial heart of what we’re building together. 

What we want people to take away 

We asked Graham what he hopes people take away from the work Groundwork and The Best Connection are doing together. 

“I want people to understand that changing the world, in all the highfalutin ways we’ve been talking about, actually starts with some very simple steps. There’s immense power in coming together as a community to make a difference take power into our own hands, and do something real that we can see and touch and feel. That’s where the engine is.” 

And for those considering getting involved: 

“This shouldn’t be special or a big leap. This should be normal. Grab it with both hands.” 

The Best Connection is proud to partner with Groundwork as our charity of the year. To find out more about the partnership, visit our Groundwork Partnership Hub.